Consider the implications of prepaying your current mortgage and your future mortgage needs. You may need bridge financing to cover the period between buying your new home and selling you current one, or you may want to keep the conditions of your mortgage.

Find out how to declare your sale on your income tax return.

A realtor can help you set the price for your home by looking at your neighbourhood, the features of your home and comparables. If you intend to sell it on your own, contact a chartered appraiser, an objective professional who can set a fair price.

Maximize the value of your home

Follow a few home staging guidelines: depersonalize the décor and spruce up both the inside and outside. It may give you justification for increasing your asking price.

Fill out the Declarations by the seller of the immovable form or an equivalent form. It's where you declare the condition of your home, which minimizes the risk of legal action against you by future owners. The form also helps potential homebuyers make informed decisions.

What it includes

• The offered price
• Inclusions and exclusions
• Expiry date of the offer

Conditions

• A home inspection by a professional home or building inspector
• Possession date
• Temporary occupancy
• Mortgage approval

If you're not comfortable with some conditions in the Offer to Purchase, you can sign a refusal and make a counter-offer which may or may not include a different sale price.

To protect your property and goods.

Once the Offer to Purchase or counter-offer is accepted and all conditions are met, you can make the transaction official by sealing the deal at the lawyer's office.

So they'll be aware of the terms of the sale.